Tamara Toumanova Explained

Tamara Toumanova
Birth Date:1919 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Tyumen, Russian SFSR
Death Place:Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting Place:Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupation:Ballerina, actress

Tamara Toumanova (Georgian: თამარა თუმანოვა; 2 March 1919 – 29 May 1996) was a Russian-born Georgian-American[1] [2] prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her debut at the age of 10 at the children's ballet of the Paris Opera.

She became known internationally as one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after being discovered by her fellow émigré, balletmaster and choreographer George Balanchine. She was featured in numerous ballets in Europe. Balanchine featured her in his productions at Ballet Theatre, New York, making her the star of his performances in the United States. While most of Toumanova's career was dedicated to ballet, she appeared as a ballet dancer in several films, beginning in 1944. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943 in Los Angeles, California.[3]

Career

Toumanova was the daughter of Yevgenia[4] (or Eugenia) Dmitrievna Toumanishvili, who was half-Georgian-Armenian on her father's side, and half-Georgian on her mother's side.[5] Her father was Dmitri Toumanov, originally of Georgian Toumanishvili family; her mother was Yelizaveta Chkheidze.

At the time of her daughter's birth, Yevgenia was married to Konstantin Zakharov (a Russian). Both Tamara and her mother used the surname Khassidovitch (Yevgenia's second husband was Vladimir Khassidovitch (akas: Vladimir Khassidovitch-Boretsky/Vladimir Khazidovich-Boretsky)[6] for most of their lives following the end of Yevgenia's first marriage, including on their paperwork for naturalization as citizens of the United States.[4] After moving to Paris, Toumanova was given piano lessons and studied ballet with Olga Preobrajenska, whom she described as her "first and only permanent teacher" and an "immortal friend".[7]

At the age of six, Toumanova was invited by the ballerina Anna Pavlova to perform in one of her gala concerts in 1925. Toumanova danced a polka choreographed by Preobrajenska. Tamara was 10 years old when she made her debut at the Paris Opera as a child étoile in the ballet L'Éventail de Jeanne (for which 10 French composers wrote the music). https://yandex.ru/collections/card/5ddfddd5d497a8b0c9c809c5/

In 1931, when Toumanova was 12 years old, George Balanchine saw her in ballet class and engaged her for de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, along with Irina Baronova (aged 12) and Tatiana Riabouchinska (aged 14). The three girls were an immediate success, and writer Arnold Haskell dubbed them the "baby ballerinas".[8]

Toumanova became recognised as a young prodigy of immense talent. She came to be called "The Black Pearl of the Russian Ballet", because, as ballet critic A. V. Coton wrote, "she was the loveliest creature in the history of the ballet", with black silky hair, deep brown eyes and pale almond skin. Toumanova was considered the most glamorous of the trio. Throughout her dynamic career, her mother was her devoted companion, nursemaid, dresser, agent and manager – she was always at the helm.[9]

Balanchine created the role of the "Young Girl" for Toumanova in his ballet Cotillon and had her star in his Concurrence and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Léonide Massine worked closely with Toumanova in the creation of many of his ballets. She played the part of the Top in his Jeux d'Enfants. Balanchine created a role for her in his Le Palais de Cristal (since re-titled Symphony in C) in 1947 at the Paris Opera.

In 1936, while Toumanova was performing ballet in Chicago, an 18-year-old boy named Burr Tillstrom came to see her perform. Following the ballet, Burr went backstage to meet her. As they talked, Toumanova and Tillstrom became friends. Some time later, Tillstrom showed her a favorite puppet he had made and she, surprised by his revelation, exclaimed "Kukla" (Russian for "puppet"). Burr Tillstrom went on to create a very early (1947) television show for children, titled Kukla, Fran and Ollie.[10]

Chronology

[11]

Roles

Toumanova on film

Toumanova appeared in six Hollywood films between 1944 and 1970, always playing dancers. She made her feature film debut in 1944, in Days of Glory, playing a Russian dancer being saved from the invading Germans in 1941 by Soviet partisan leader Gregory Peck (who also made his debut in that film).

In 1953, she played Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova in Tonight We Sing, and in 1954, she appeared in the biographical musical Deep in My Heart as the French dancer Gaby Deslys. In 1956, she performed a dance scene with Gene Kelly in Invitation to the Dance.[12] In 1966, she played the odious, unnamed lead ballerina in Alfred Hitchcock's political thriller Torn Curtain. In 1970, she played Russian ballerina Madame Petrova in Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

Personal life

Some sources indicate that Tamara Toumanova was born Tamara Vladimirovna Khassidovitch[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] in Siberia, while her mother, Princess Eugenia (later Eugenie) Dmitrievna Toumanova[14] [18] [19] [20] [21] was fleeing Georgia in search of her husband (Vladimir Khassidovitch),[13] [19] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]).

Toumanova was of partial Georgian,[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] Armenian[35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] and Polish[39] descent. Singer Lyudmila Lopato, who personally knew Toumanova, wrote that "Tamara was of Armenian-Polish descent, not a Georgian Princess, as many people think".[39] Tamara herself highlighted her Georgian heritage on many occasions – "I think he saw kinship with me, with my tristesse, with my being part Georgian.";[31] "My mother, Evgeniya Toumanova, was a Georgian, a Chkheidze by birth, from Tbilisi. Sometimes she used to speak Georgian to me.";[43] etc. This is further confirmed by her family's official documents in Georgia and the Russian Empire,[44] including that of her uncle (mother's brother) Prince Zachary Dmitrievich Tumanov, whose ethnicity is stated as "Georgian".[45] Tamara's parents were deeply religious.[46] Tamara,[47] her mother[48] and her maternal grandmother, Princess Elizabeth Chkhedize, were Georgian/Russian Orthodox, while Toumanova's maternal grandfather Prince Dmitry Toumanov was a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[49] [50]

Toumanova's parents had become separated during the Russian Revolution.[51] [52] She was 18 months old before the family reunited. The family escaped from Russia via Vladivostok.[53] [54] [55]

In 1944, Toumanova married Casey Robinson, whom she met as the producer and screenwriter of Days of Glory, her first film.[56] The union was childless. The couple divorced on 13 October 1955.[57] [58]

Death

Toumanova died in Santa Monica, California, on 29 May 1996, aged 77, from undisclosed causes. Before her death, she gave her Preobrajenska costumes to the Vaganova Choreographic Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her funeral was a high mass at the Russian Orthodox Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral, Los Angeles. She was buried next to her mother Princess Eugenie in Hollywood, Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

British choreographer John Gregory described Toumanova as a "remarkable artist – a great personality who never stopped acting. It is impossible to think of Russian ballet without her."[9] [59]

Bibliography

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Examiner. 19 April 1952. 12. trove.nla.gov.au. 19 January 2016.
  2. News: IS BALLET DANCING SLAVERY? . . CXI . 33 . Tasmania, Australia . 19 April 1952 . 22 May 2017 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
  3. Web site: Naturalization info. re Tamara Toumanova (1943) . Familysearch.org . February 8, 2022.
  4. https://www.fold3.com/document/7334659 "Eugenie Dmitrievna Toumanishvili" (based on naturalization paperwork for United States citizenship)
  5. [Artsvi Bakhchinyan]
  6. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 22 October 2016.
  7. http://michaelminn.net/andros/biographies/toumanova_tamara Tamara Toumanova obituary
  8. Amanda. "Ballets Russes", The Age, 17 July 2005.
  9. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-tamara-toumanova-1334885.html Obituary: Tamara Toumanova
  10. http://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/Television_Recording_Origins.pdf.pdf TV Recording – The Origins and Earliest Surviving Live Broadcast Recordings (PDF)
  11. Peter Anastos. "A conversation with Tamara Toumanova", Ballet Review, vol. 11, no 4, Winter 1984, pp. 33–57
  12. http://wn.com/tamara_toumanova_and_gene_kelly_'invitation_to_the_dance'_1956 Wn.com video: Tamara Toumanova and Gene Kelly in 'invitation To The Dance' 1956
  13. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  14. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  15. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 12 March 2017.
  16. Web site: Picasa Web Albums – Владимир Шулятиков. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222171422/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BcUCpWujf2rV_7tUp9DG1dMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink. dead. 22 December 2015. 19 January 2016.
  17. Book: Hulme, Derek C.. Dmitri Shostakovich Catalogue: The First Hundred Years and Beyond. 2010. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-7265-3. 758–.
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230832/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HTNYmS0r43hkK43-p_UbqNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  19. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230834/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L-wXJafHXXfLcdyhP4teedMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  20. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230837/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oHWH2X2rHb87gu3xd_lN3dMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  21. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230825/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UeJkeVflfVL8pWseu_dJyNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  22. https://picasaweb.google.com/105886027558885815466/TamaraToumanova?authuser=0&feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков – Tamara Toumanova
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230836/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZE_0iyPsDeAV2Ozuc_-nDdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230839/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4SUPW_7VyLmlKdviI3ziL9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  25. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230828/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qxzsnZDd79zYuLV8JU4-ctMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  26. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024230841/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VURMu0RBmZG6hkjvT0PuR9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  27. Some sources cite Dr Konstantin Zakharov, a physician in the Caucasian Military District as Princess Eugenia Tumanishvili's husband or lover although United States immigration and naturalization records record Vladimir Khassidovitch (or Khazidovich-Boretsky) as Eugenie's husband and presumably Tamara's father, who emigrated with them to the United States and applied for naturalization at the same time.
  28. Web site: 19 April 1952 – Examiner. 12. nla.gov.au.
  29. http://www.opera.ge/images/Arabesque-15-small.pdf Arabesque: Georgian Ballet Magazine, No 2 (15)
  30. Book: Mason, Francis. I remember Balanchine: recollections of the ballet master by those who knew him. 1991. Doubleday. 978-0-385-26610-9. 103. Tamara Toumanova: "I think he saw kinship with me, with my tristesse, with my being part Georgian."
  31. Gottlieb, Robert. George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker. HarperCollins 2004, p. 136;
  32. International Encyclopedia of Dance. Selma Jeanne Cohen (ed.) Oxford University Press 1998, vol. 6, p. 182f;
  33. Tracy & DeLano. Balanchine's Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses. Linden Press (1983), p. 66;
  34. Web site: Книга А. Васильева: "Этюды о моде и стиле" РУССКИЕ ДИВЫ. https://web.archive.org/web/20111022043914/http://www.orgsun.com/ru/fashion/history-of-fashion/sketches-of-fashion-and-style-vasiliev/hist3.php. dead. 22 October 2011.
  35. https://books.google.com/books?id=Rc8oAAAAQBAJ&dq=toumanova+armenian&pg=PT277 A dos tintas
  36. Kananur V. Chandras. Arab, Armenian, Syrian, Lebanese, East Indian, Pakistani, and Bangla Deshi Americans: a study guide and source book, R&E Research Associates, 1977, p. 44.
  37. Прекрасная Маруся Сава: русская эмиграция на концертных площадках и в ресторанах Америки, Михаил Иванович Близнюк – 2007
  38. The American Dancer, vol 14, issue 2 (1941): "Seen on New York's 57th Street, the hub of the ballet social world: Tamara Toumanova, Leon and Hercelia Danielian and William Saroyan, all within a block of each other; one more Armenian and the street would have been roped off..."
  39. http://www.zakharov.ru/index2.php?option=com_books&task=show_viderjka&id=309&no_html=1&width=640&height=400 Людмила Ильинична Лопато, Волшебное зеркало воспоминаний, 2003г., cit. "Тамара была армянско-польского происхождения, а вовсе не грузинской княжной Туманишвили, как многие думают" According to La Toumanova's godson Chevalier Tony Clark "She claimed to be a White Russian Princess"until the day she died. . Apology for dancing, Faber and Faber Ltd (1936), p. 212: "And the fact that Toumanova is only half Russian (half Armenian)...."
  40. [T.S. Eliot{{!}}Thomas Stearns Eliot]
  41. Francis James Brown and Joseph Slabey Rouček. One America: the history, contributions, and present problems of our racial and national minorities, p. 308
  42. Aleksandr Vasil'ev. Beauty in exile: the artists, models, and nobility, 2000: «She was the daughter of army engineer Vladimir Khazidovich-Boretsky and Yevgenia, an Armenian woman»
  43. Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes: Stories from a Silver Age by Michael Meylac, I. B. Tauris & Co
  44. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  45. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  46. Web site: Триумф богини балета, ВЛАДИМИР КАЛИНИНСКИЙ.
  47. Web site: T. Toumanova; Ballerina and Actress by MYRNA OLIVER. Los Angeles Times. 31 May 1996 .
  48. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  49. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  50. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  51. https://web.archive.org/web/20131218155004/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Z9kJNjgCy4Yr7ATUCHyZ4NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  52. https://web.archive.org/web/20131218155005/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OOs8q38Nhw9nWny6fsmQa9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Владимир Шулятиков
  53. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 8 May 2017.
  54. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 12 March 2017.
  55. Web site: Picasa Web Albums – Владимир Шулятиков. https://archive.today/20130831051851/https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zbYXemVKTaCTBSYmPECUGNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink. dead. 31 August 2013. 31 August 2013. 9 May 2017.
  56. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52875342 "Is Ballet Dancing Slavery?"
  57. https://newspaperarchive.com/hamilton-daily-news-journal/1955-10-19/page-7 "Little Black Book Leads to Divorce"
  58. Web site: Album Archive. Get.google.com. 12 March 2017.
  59. Gregor Koenig. "Obituary: John Gregory", The Independent, 31 October 1996.
  60. Web site: Ав. Ирина Мороз . Балерина Тамара Туманова: биография, работы в театре и кино . Fb.ru . 17 July 2016 . 12 March 2017.